Singapore-based Go-Jek customers can now pay for rides with DBS PayLah! for both Android and iOS users

Go-Jek riders in Singapore can pay for their rides via DBS PayLah!, following the partnership expansion of the payment service in Singapore with Go-Jek, according to a press statement.

DBS PayLah! feature has been made available in the app for both iOS and Android users in Singapore. The customers can add DBS PayLah! as a preferred payment method for their rides after standard authorising and setting up in the app.

Go-Jek shared that only 35 per cent of its daily ride-hailing transactions are paid for in cash, which brings the opportunity to explore other means of payment especially for those who might not own any debit or credit card.

“Through integrating DBS PayLah! in the Go-Jek app, riders will have the flexibility to choose their preferred payment methods. This is the latest benefit that we are bringing to our users in partnership with DBS,” said General Manager of Go-Jek Singapore, Lien Choong Luen.

Vice versa, the companies said, Go-Jek will be integrated within the DBS PayLah! app over the next few months.

Also Read: Laos local bank partners Everex to facilitate blockchain-based cross border payments

With digital payment integration, Go-Jek’s driver-partners can also make unlimited real-time withdrawals of their earnings from their Go-Jek’s wallets. Payouts are deposited directly into their bank accounts through API-based DBS IDEAL RAPID.

In addition to Singapore, this partnership can be explored further with the possibility of rolling out new services such as cross-marketing initiative in Indonesia in the future.

“Following the success of DBS and Go-Jek’s partnership in Singapore, we have also entered the next phase of our partnership in Indonesia considering it to be our key growth country,” said Shee Tse Koon, Singapore country head at DBS.

Ride-hailing company Go-Jek is originally founded in Indonesia, while DBS currently has more than 460,000 digibank customers in the country.

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Kincir CEO Giring Ganesha talks about juggling superstardom and startup life, and his secret recipe for productivity

While the Indonesian public might recognise Giring Ganesha as the lead singer of pop music sensation Nidji, and a man who has starred at several movies, he has recently added a new entry to his resume: A startup founder.

In 2013, he launched Kincir, a social media platform for fans to interact with their idols. On Wednesday, he expanded the platform by launching Viral, a news platform targetting youth aged between 15 and 25 years.

“We learned that managing a user-generated website is a very tough challenge. How can we get more users? If people want updates from celebrities about their daily activities, there are already platforms for that,” Ganesha says, explaining the reason behind the expansion.

“I’m also a big fan of pop culture. Star Wars, DC, Marvel … And I noticed that the Indonesian media, when they are covering entertainment, they still focus [a lot] on gossip. No one is focussing on the niche and fun aspect [of pop culture] yet,” he adds.

e27 sat down with Ganesha to talk about what it takes to juggle two jobs, and his approach to building a more productive team.

The following are edited excerpt of the interview:

Also Read: Kakao buys music streaming service MelOn for a sweet US$1.5B

Tell me how your new career began!

It was on 2010, and my wife was eight months pregnant. We were obsessed with investing our money. Then I received an invitation to Mark Plus Conference (a marketing conference in Indonesia) and I decided to go there with my wife.

At the conference, I met Danny Wirianto. I was so starstruck; I just had to take photos with him. He was talking about Kaskus (a website similar to Reddit), and his speech was amazing! Especially since I’ve been on Kaskus since 1998. Seeing porn stuff in there, they don’t have it anymore, eh? (laughs).

But when I approached him backstage for a photo, he was like, “Hey! It’s me who’s supposed to take photos with you!”

That was the beginning of our beautiful friendship. Then he told me, “Giring, I am currently leading Merah Putih Incubator. If you have any [business] ideas, please just tell me about it!”

So I told him about my ideas for Kincir.

What motivated you to get into the tech industry?

I understood that in the future, no one [would be able to] live without tech. Back then it was enough to live with clothes, food and housing, but now you need to add the Internet too. It has become a necessity.

Also Read: RoadGods, PindropMusic selected for GHV’s acceleration programme

How do you manage your time between your band, movies, and the startup?

Very easy. I wake up early at 5AM. I get to the office by 7AM and my team is already there. Then we have a breakfast meeting until 8AM. [The rest of the morning] is meetings and the like.

By lunchtime, if I don’t have any agenda with Nidji, I continue until 4PM, then go home. Usually, all Nidji-related activities are happening after lunchtime. That’s how I manage my time.

Having a company that starts business at 7AM turns out to have many benefits.

One, my employees are freed from [dealing with] traffic jams. Two, they are still fresh. We used to start at 10AM, and by the time everyone gets to the office they all looked like they just got back from a war. Then comes lunchtime and after everyone has rice they end up feeling sleepy.

At first they were shocked when I announced we are starting at 7AM. But I told them, “Just give it a try, man, just one month!”

The result was amazing. They are happier, and they actually have a life because they can leave by 4PM.

I have an engineer who lives far away from work. During his performance review, he actually thanked me [for the new regulation], as he now has more time to spend with his wife.

I literally cried when I heard that.

Also Read: Music streaming firm Guvera raising US$100M for Indian expansion

Does your celebrity status come with any challenges of its own?

The good thing is that it is easier for me to build a network. I can meet with the big bosses without having to introduce myself.

The challenge is actually the investors. They all asked the same question: How do you manage your time?

The only way to face [that question] is by proving myself.

Any advice for those who would like to switch careers to tech?

I do not think I am in a position to give advice, but I would say just pursue your dream. If you have an idea, put in on paper, test the market. And if the market likes it, then expand.

Beside, in this day of age, everyone is an entrepreneur. We are an entrepreneurial generation.

Image Credit: Kincir

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The two Singapore-based blockchain companies merge to create Crypto One Stop Solution

Arax, a fintech and blockchain startup in Singapore has merged with COSS, Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchanges.

The companies announced that they will adopt the Crypto One Stop Solution brand that will allow users to trade, store, transact, and spend their digital assets from one platform with one ID.

The utility tokens of both platforms merge into one token that powers one ecosystem. It is called COS. The company claimed that the COS token currently surpasses all existing exchange tokens in the market in terms of utility.

Arax offers a multi digital asset storage and utility product, providing support for several blockchains. Users remain in full control of their private keys while being able to send, receive and spend digital assets on utilities like mobile top-ups (which is supported in 160+ countries), access instant digital asset exchange and make GPS-based transfers.

COSS was launched in mid-2017 and has slowly built its feature stack to support a secure smart contract enabled wallet management system. It also supports five stablecoins, fiat payment gateway for international currencies, listing over 90+ listed digital assets and providing a Fee Split Allocation feature, which lets token holders receive 50 per cent of all trading fees generated by the exchange, distributed through a DAO (Decentralised Autonomous Organisation).

Also Read: I made my employees start working at 7AM – and they love it: Giring Ganesha

“Our focus has been crypto adaptability for the masses. Now users who used to storing it on one platform, trading it on another, and sending it to another for every way they wish to spend it will no longer require to do so,” said Sankalp Shangari, Group CEO of COSS and Founder of Arax.

Rune Evensen, Co-Founder and Chief Product & Strategy Officer of COSS, continues by highlighting that COSS will be open still to partner with more providers that wishes to offer its products and services through the newly merged ecosystem.

The token swap to merge the COSS and LALA tokens begins on June 25, 2019 on COSS platform.
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How a unified approach to payments can ensure a seamless experience for users and enhanced profitability for the e-commerce industry

e-Commerce is a consistent driver of industry growth. 2018 marked the year of e-commerce in Southeast Asia, highlighted by rising incomes, increased mobile adoption, and improved logistics. According to the latest e-Conomy report by Google and Temasek, the region’s digital economy hit an inflection point in 2018 and will reach $240 billion by 2025, which will exceed earlier projections by $40 billion.

Despite this growth trajectory, Southeast Asia still lags behind the rest of the globe in terms of digital and mobile payments penetration. While the region is popularly lauded as being “the next 600 million”, referring to the scale of the population, at least 60 percent remains unbanked or underbanked.

Recognising this gap, innovative fintech startups across Southeast Asia are leveraging tech to meet the needs of consumers who do not have access to traditional banking services such as access to credit, digital payments, and online transactions.

The mobile and digital payments connection

The proliferation of fintech start-ups creates a ripple effect as there is a supply-and-demand dynamic between payments and e-commerce. The pervasiveness of smartphones and faster mobile data connections has driven the growth of mobile commerce. This, in turn, influenced the development of mobile wallets or contactless payment mechanisms. The increased accessibility to cashless payments influences growth in e-commerce and m-commerce, thus leading to a cycle of growth and innovation.

eMarketer, a market research company that provides insights and trends related to digital marketing, media and commerce, projects that within this year, more than half of smartphone users in the Asia Pacific region will pay for goods and services through their mobile devices. By 2022, 56 per cent of payment volume in this region — as well as a staggering 82 per cent in Singapore — is expected to be cashless, according to Frost & Sullivan.

The challenge of digital payments

As digital payments grow, so will concerns over the ease of payments and the security of transactions. The challenge therefore lies in empowering both businesses and customers alike with tools that make digital payments as convenient and secure as paying cash.

According to Cybersource, a global payment management platform from Visa, key trends that businesses should consider when going digital include:

• Integrated frictionless payments;
• Omni-channel, unified commerce and automated checkout;
• Virtualised credentials – embedded everywhere and anywhere.

Reduced transactional friction increases profitability

The ultimate consequence of having high-friction on an e-commerce store is that people buy less because of the added difficulty of completing the transaction. Research shows that around three quarters of e-commerce buyers abandon their shopping carts when it is too difficult to checkout – and this is true across different devices whether on desktop or mobile device.

Transactional friction also includes slow load times and e-commerce pages not optimized for mobile displays. The answer here is to speed up and simplify the shopping and checkout process. Solutions can include reducing page load times through lighter code, server-side improvements, and optimizing on-page copy for better readability even on small displays.

An omni-channel approach to retail improves sales

As part of reducing transactional friction, digital retailers should also consider an omni- or multi-channel approach to sales and checking out. This involves having the ability to service both online and offline customers across both digital and physical channels. For instance, you can allow for online payment, but in-store pickup or collection.

One concern is that an omni-channel retail approach might result in loss of control over where the sale actually happens. For instance, consumers often channel-hop, choosing the most convenient way to buy a product or service. These are platforms not controlled directly by the retailer, such as messaging or social media apps. This means the control of the user experience shifts from the retail business towards the consumer.

For businesses engaging in e-commerce, the key here is to simplify payment mechanisms, which can enhance the user experience, improve loyalty and increase repeat customers. Incorporating solutions such as machine learning, AI, along with social logins and one-click payments can help enhance customer experience, grow revenues and mitigate risks.

Payment credentials are becoming more sophisticated and yet simpler for users

There is a wide disparity of preferred technologies and payment mechanisms across Southeast Asia. For example: Singapore shows a rapid growth in cashless payment technologies. In Malaysia, debit and credit card transactions dominate. Meanwhile, bank transfers and cash are the most popular in Indonesia, although local mobile wallets are starting to gain traction. Cash-on-delivery are still the most popular means of payment in Vietnam and the Philippines.

Such a disparity might make it difficult for e-commerce and m-commerce businesses to address all the nuances of each market in the region. However, this also presents an opportunity, in terms of the need to streamline the payments technology. One trend that Cybersource has identified is how tokens will play a stronger role in securing card data, which is being virtualised. With payments infrastructure moving toward a tokenised approach, credentials become virtualised and can thus be embedded anywhere.

What this means is that a transaction can take place either online or offline, or both within the confines of an e-commerce platform or even across a different platform such as messaging or social media app. User and payment credentials still remain intact due to the tokenised nature of the transaction – ensuring a unified user experience across these different channels.

The takeaway

The retail environment is increasingly shifting toward omni-channel, driven by a focus on technology and user experience. Expect consumers to channel-hop across online and physical stores, aided by smartphones, tablets, and social media, whichever is most convenient.

For a digital retail business, the key to success lies in capturing the benefits across all these channels. This means facilitating the deal from any touchpoint, thus completing the sale regardless of where the user makes the purchase. Here, a secure and efficient payment network can streamline and unify the process, ensuring optimal profitability for businesses and better convenience for users.

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Image credit: 123rf.com / ID 53804229

 

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Today we have updates from government agencies and social media giants

Singapore, UK sign MOU to deepen govtech collaboration and exchange – Press Release

Singapore’s Government Technology Agency (GovTech) and the UK’s Government Digital Service (GDS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on June 13 to strengthen collaboration in the design and delivery of digital government public services.

The signing took place at No. 11 Downing Street, the official residence of the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer. Representing the agencies to sign the MoU were Kok Ping Soon (Chief Executive of GovTech Singapore) and Kevin Cunnington (Director General of GDS UK).

For GovTech Singapore, the MOU is the first it has signed with GDS UK.

“The MoU will facilitate greater sharing of experiences and expertise in the development of digital platforms and services to better serve our citizens and businesses. It will also allow mutual exchange of officers to build capabilities and explore opportunities for collaboration to strengthen the digital partnership between the two organisations,” Kok said in a press statement.

Indonesia cancels plan to prohibit discounts for ride-hailing services – The Jakarta Post

Indonesia’s ministry of transportation announced that it would not prohibit ride-hailing companies, particularly those offering motorbike-based services, from giving tariff discounts, according to The Jakarta Post report.

On Thursday, Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi told the press that the ministry “would discuss it” upon request from stakeholders.

The statement followed an announcement that the ministry made last month on minimum and maximum tariff regulation for ride-hailing companies. The regulation itself was issued after a series of rallies by motorbike taxi drivers that demanded increased tariffs for their welfare.

Weeks into the trial of the tariff regulation, ride-hailing giants Go-Jek and Grab have given customers discounts amid complaints about the rising tariffs.

Grab Indonesia President Ridzki Kramadibrata said the ride-hailing company was open to discussion with the government over such a regulation.

Also Read: How Singapore’s GovTech is building a robust public e-services ecosystem

Facebook’s new cryptocurrency attracts investors – Wall Street Journal

Facebook’s new cryptocurrency Libra has attracted investments from big names such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Uber, according to a report by Wall Street Journal.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the report stated that the companies will invest around US$10 million each in a consortium that will govern the cryptocurrency.

Facebook itself will use the money to fund the creation of the cryptocurrency, which is said to be fixed to government-issued currencies to avoid swings.

The cryptocurrency is set to be unveiled in the following week.

Bytedance hires ex-Facebook executive to strengthen TikTok – Bloomberg

Chinese social media giant Bytedance has named Blake Chandlee as the first head of strategic partnerships for its app TikTok, with the official title of vice president, global business solutions.

Chandlee was previously known as an executive in Facebook, who spent about a decade working on the social media giant’s business partnerships in Europe, Latin America and the US.

According to a Bloomberg report, the recruitment is part of the company’s “big recruiting push” to expand the TikTok brand and compete with the likes of Facebook and Snap. It had recently recruited executives from YouTube.

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